@WildBSinTX
Would the authors here be interested in weekly reports that show daily values for the number of downloads, score, size, and other stats that SOL provides?
To be honest, not really.
For example, most of us know that the "scores" mean little to nothing in here. The numbers for that are, strange to say the least. One of my most recent ones for example has the majority of scores at 7 or 8, then more at 9 or 10. Literally maybe 5 are ranked 6, and nothing lower than that.
For a story rated at 6.6.
None of the scores really mean much to me, to be honest. And I readily admit, I write mostly for myself. I simply end up with these stories in my mind that I have to write down and put out, and I am even aware that many of them will end up low "rated" when I write them because they are not the kind of story that many people "like".
That is because many in here want lots of "stroke content", the most extreme kinks they can get, and an ending where the main character gets lots and lots of awesome sex. Me, I tell stories and they might not always be what they expect so that often gets me ranked really low down.
Like a do-over story, where instead of the common trope where the MC makes their life perfect and lives happily ever after with the girl they love dies tragically. Or another based on "Ground Hog Day" where after many repeats the repeater had gone insane, and become a murderous psychopath.
Those are exceptions, but it let me see how many will "vote down" a story simply because they did not like the ending, no matter that it should have been obvious where it was going. Or most recently, when I expanded on the part of a life in my longer series. I talked in a few paragraphs where a female character got pulled into drugs and street prostitution, but I later expanded on that. Going into more details about exactly what happened, and how. And ended up ranked in the 5's, with votes as low as 3.
A lot of people simply vote based on their "kinks". And since I am not a "kink writer", many of those miss me. Those that want stories about incest, dogging, cuckolding, parodies based on movies or TV shows, harems, things like that. My highest rated are easy to see, the "soft and fluffy love stories" that I normally write. Where in the end the guy and gal find love and live happily ever after.
But my depression also has me creating other works, more akin to "The Twilight Zone". And as revered as that is, I actually laugh when I create a story in the similar style (and sometimes almost lifted from one of their plots), and it gets voted down and I get messages saying they did not like the ending.
And to be honest, I do not care. As I said, I write for me. I can look at pride that one of my stories has over half a million downloads, and the chapters are all rated highly. And the almost 1,000 comments tell me that it was loved and well received.
And a slightly darker series with more "real life superheroes" where they suffer real life problems and angst based on their conditions is similarly well received. Or even one I wrote over 2 decades ago is still considered by some as a "classic", because at that time I was still writing what was then considered to be "popular erotica". Writing for the readers more than myself.
I think many are like me, writing more for ourselves than the fan. But for me, it is about getting out a story and not writing to please people. I am just glad that some enjoy them and get what I am doing.
I often wonder how George R. R. Martin would do here, with his killing off characters almost constantly, with what seems like little to no reason. I could even imagine all the "down votes" because he dared to kill off Ned Stark.
